Curatorial Statement

This piece is a seven image series inspired by the song "No Light, No Light" by Florence and the Machine. This static representation is a collection of stills from a dynamic dance piece, using lighting and exposure techniques inspired by Duane Michals. The song is an impassioned outcry from a woman stuck in a lifeless relationship, and hating herself for being unable to step away. This is expressed through dancers shown in a dark room, just a thin pane of glass away from light but still stuck in the shadows. The piece also pulls on the ethereal feel of the song, which uses church organs, floaty vocals, and choir boys as background vocals, by using long exposure times and overexposure of the light from the back windows to create an otherworldy effect.

Reflection

I spent some time looking over this piece, and I really think it was a successful outcome. The symmetry of the framing and consistency is location really allow the eye to flow from one image to the next and really feel the movement of the dancers, without feeling like you are moving between different compositions. The lighting and setting came out really well, and I didn't even need to use any post processing. I would love to see this series blown up across a wall, because I think scrolling through it really doesn't do it justice. As a whole, I think this piece not only embodies the essence of the song, but that it could be a fully standalone piece and still communicate the same message. I am very pleased with the work.

Before this semester, I think I would have understood a lot of the subtleties of this piece, but I wouldn't have the words to explain it to someone else. Understanding the framing and placement of the dancers and the weight of the piece as a whole are new skills for me. I think the biggest difference, since this is a new spin on a medium I have long been comfortable with, is the ability to compose this piece. Before this class I had never shot a picture with a fancy camera and knew almost nothing about photography. This module really opened up that field to me and helped me to understand what goes in to creating a photograph, and led me to forming the skills needed to make this piece, which are definitely not quite standard. This new skill set gives me a whole new appreciation for photography, and I find myself looking at pictures in a totally new way.